Life and Times of Fannie Lou Hamer to highlight voter registration drive

Special to the Peacemaker / July 21, 2016

A voter registration drive will feature a play about one of America’s most courageous advocates for Black voting rights – Fannie Lou Hamer.

The Life and Times of Fannie Lou Hamer, will be presented on July 30, 3 p.m. at Mt. Olivet A.M.E. Zion Church; 2123 McConnell Road; Greensboro.

This free performance is provided through a collaboration of The Touring Theatre of North Carolina, The League of Women Voters of the Piedmont Triad, and Mt. Olivet A.M.E. Zion Church.

The performance is open to the public. Individuals who have not registered to vote are particularly encouraged to attend since members of The League of Women Voters will be on-site to register voters before and after the play.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. There will be refreshments. The 40 minute performance will start at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” These famous words uttered by Mississippi sharecropper Fannie Lou Hamer, explains her persistence in her efforts to become what she called, “a first-class citizen.” When the Freedom Riders came to Sunflower County, Mississippi, the poorest county in the state, Fannie Lou Hamer was among the first Black persons to travel to the courthouse in an attempt to register to vote and was one of two allowed to take the literary test which she failed.

Upon her return home, she was fired from her job on the plantation and had shots fired into the house where she was thought to be staying. Matters became worse as local sheriffs and their deputies beat and threatened to kill her. But she was steadfast in her determination. “Killing or no killing, I am staying with civil rights.” Hamer exclaimed.

Today Fannie Lou Hamer is recognized as one of the most important leaders in the civil rights movement. The Life and Times of Fannie Lou Hamer is her story.

The Touring Theatre of North Carolina is a nonprofit, active producing professional theatre. It is well known for its work that celebrates all lines of ethnicity, gender, economic status, religion and age. A Greensboro theatre company, it is firmly rooted in the central North Carolina community. All of its productions are developed and premier in Greensboro, before being available for touring.

For more information about this upcoming performance call: (336) 273-1220